Excel World Championship entrants will be tested in several key Excel areas. They’ll be competing for “a trip to Seattle, USA and a meeting with Excel Product Leads to provide feedback on the next features added to Excel.” And of course, the title of “Excel World Champion” will be bestowed upon the eventual winner. Add that to your letterhead!

Competition Format

The brave competitors must display exceptional skills in the following areas:

As you’d expect with a competition, it won’t be straightforward. Competitors will receive a notification when a test spreadsheet becomes live. Those competing must download the test, complete it, and return it to the email address provided at the time (“Details on where to send your workbook will be provided with the test”).

Competitors will be scored based on their performance in the aforementioned areas. The weighting for those areas is as follows: Data Relays (35%), Chart Gymnastics (30%, driven by community), Formula Wrestling (35%).

After round two, the top 20 highest scoring entries will progress. Following round three, the top 3 highest scoring entries will progress. Round four will see the highest scoring entry declared Excel World Champion.

Entry Requirements

The competition will be run under the Excel World Championship banner, but there are entry restrictions for a number of countries:

Tips for the Trial

Here are my immediate impressions: Power Query and Power Pivot are definitely going to be your friends in the first task. However, some users have reported difficulty using those tools within the protected workbook. This means to complete the trial, you’ll have to devise a workaround.

The second task tests your chart skills. The data provided should give you ample opportunity to display your prowess. That said, if you’re stuck for an aesthetic, why not look at the existing submissions (scroll down to the comments) for some inspiration?

Caveat — Upvote those you find interesting and display the data accurately. This section considers the community opinion too.

The final section requires you to answer a series of questions using formulas. You should find the questions relatively easy, especially for those using the integrated functions offered in Excel 2016. Remember, the judges want the correct answer, but also want a nice, efficient formula. You’ll lose points if your formula is convoluted or overly complicated. Keep it simple!

Compete With the Finest

Do you have what it takes to become the first Excel World Champion? Microsoft regularly provides sponsorship for other competitions. They provide a healthy backdrop for technological development while allowing Microsoft the first glance at anything groundbreaking. Most importantly, they give competitors a chance to illustrate their expertise in any given area, with the chance of winning exciting prizes.

And let’s face it, everyone loves an exciting prize.

Do you think you have what it takes? Do you think the level of expertise will be too high? What Microsoft-sponsored competitions would you like to see next? Let us know your thoughts below!

Gavin is a Senior Writer, focusing predominantly on security. He has a BA (Hons) Contemporary Writing with Digital Art Practices pillaged from the hills of Devon, as well as 10 year's professional writing experience. He enjoys copious amounts of tea.